Reclaiming the Concrete Jungle

3/26/2008

For many citizens, living outside the city and commuting to work for hours everyday is the sad reality. To accommodate more urban residents, owners and developers have cut up land within the metropolis into tinier parcels or built them up to the brim, sometimes even more than the local codes allow. Meanwhile, for several city dwellers, a lawn, gardens, and fresh air are only fervent dreams. Although there are some areas in the heart of the city where buildings are regulated at only 80% of the property, in most high density areas, the reality is that there is usually no space left for greenery.  Homes are built leaving no space for a garden.  Even the parks and open spaces allocated by the government are being converted into barangay halls, covered ball courts, police precincts, or parking spaces. Because the intention is worthy, most communities hold to the misconception that utilizing these open spaces for buildings is a sign of progress and common good. Sadly, the ecological balance in the area and the need for healthy breathing spaces are disregarded.

In answer to my quest to find solutions to this urban dilemma, I chanced upon a house in Quezon City that did not compromise on greenery. Although the land was fully built up, the homeowner was able to maintain the greenery, both inside and outside his home. This three story house has greenery from the ground floor up to the roof deck. It not only cools the house, it also filters the surrounding air.

It is one thing to put greenery on the roof deck, which will help to cool the lower stories, but it is even better to position more greenery along the sides of the house. This can be managed by attaching decks, lattices, and trellises for vines, ivy, hanging plants, and potted plants to flourish. 

In this city we call a concrete jungle, it is still possible to cover the concrete with greenery in order to restore the balance. Imagine if this idea was replicated within a whole neighborhood. Temperature in the homes can drop significantly. The community will be more aesthetically pleasing too.

So here is your chance for re-claiming a piece of the concrete jungle. Painted concrete surfaces may be cladded with porous natural finish, which allows some plants to be attached to them, such as moss and ivy.  Lattices may be placed on the sides of existing walls. These act as further insulation from direct sunlight. Trellises may be added overhead and grown with creeping flowering vines or hung with plants, none of which requires a large space allocation.

A more sophisticated approach is the employment of hydro phonics, which is a high-tech planting method wherein you have a water source that circulates among the greenery and the use of soil is minimal. This not only reduces the structural load added by the garden soil to the building, it also conserves water. There are a lot of low energy filter pumps that allows the water to circulate and be recycled. In addition, organic fertilizers can easily be added to the cycle.

Scientifically, having more plants increases the conversion of carbon dioxide to oxygen, which makes it beneficial to its occupants and to the surroundings. It reduces cooling costs as well. What’s more, ivy-covered walls hardly ever need to get re-painted.

Living in the heart of the city does not have to mean heat, concrete, and suffocation. The creative use of plants in our homes can bring comfort back and re-claim what is rightfully nature’s own.